First snow of the season coming for most in the region
Oct 08, 2019 06:49AM ● By Editor
By Courtney Spamer, AccuWeather meteorologist, AccuWeather.com | October 8, 2019
The same storm diving through the northern Rockies this week and bringing another wave of snow will make its way into the Great Lakes, sending wet weather through parts of the Midwest.
The warm air across the East through midweek will clash with cold, Canadian air behind this system.
"As a result, the storm will strengthen and become quite potent as it moves into the Midwest," said AccuWeather Meteorologist Isaac Longley.
Precipitation will arrive in parts of Missouri, Iowa and Minnesota on Thursday, becoming more expansive into Friday. By Friday afternoon, precipitation will be stretched from Ontario, Canada, to northeastern Texas.
Along the path of the storm's center, gusty winds may cause wind-whipped rain and chilly conditions. This could reduce visibility for motorists on the roadways.
Precipitation across Minnesota will start off as rain Thursday night and Friday. However, plummeting temperatures on the back side of the storm will either force the rain to transition to snow or a rain-snow mix.
"The combination of increasing wind and snow may make for poor visibility and slippery and dangerous travel for a time in the eastern parts of the Dakotas to a portion of western Minnesota to end the week," according to AccuWeather Senior Meteorologist Alex Sosnowski.
"Some of these areas are likely to experience 40-mph winds and visibility under one-quarter mile in snow for severe hours which reaches or exceeds the criteria for a blizzard," Sosnowski said.
This will be the first snow of the season for most in the region, whether or not blizzard conditions develop.
Farther south, rain will be accompanied by rumbles of thunder. Given the unstable atmosphere from northern Missouri and central Indiana on south, some thunderstorms will have the potential to turn severe.
Other than cloud-to-ground lightning, the greatest severe weather threats look to be flooding in low-lying areas and locally damaging wind gusts.
Meanwhile, the center of the storm will remain stalled near Lake Superior for much of the weekend. This could allow for lingering snow and rain showers into Sunday for some.
Behind the wet weather, cooler air will hold over much of the Plains and Midwest through the weekend.
